Could a urine test diagnose autism?

British scientists are working on a simple test that would identify a child's risk of autism.

Determining if a child has autism is no simple task. At present, a diagnosis involves countless tests, interviews, and examinations and a team of psychologists, psychiatrists, and pediatricians all working together to a evaluate a child's health and behavior. In many cases, an offical diagnosis takes months — maybe even years.

But what if it didn't? What if, like a pregnancy test, a child could simply pee on a stick, and her health care provider would immediately (or within a few days) be able to determine if she has autism?

British scientists are currently working on such a test. Although it's still in the early stages of development, this test is building on research showing that people with autism have different bacteria in their intestines.

Jeremy Nicholson, a professor at the Imperial College of London, agrees that it's strange that there's a relationship between autism and what's happening in someone's gut. But in an interview with London's Daily Mail, he said, "your metabolism and the makeup of your gut bacteria reflect all sorts of things, including your lifestyle and your genes. We hope our findings might be the first step towards creating a simple urine test to diagnose autism at a young age."

The test is currently in the trial stage. If it goes well, it could be on the market by 2015.